Why he retired at 26 from the NFL

[A-Husker-4-Life]

Why I Retired At 26*|*Rashard Mendenhall

This is a great read and I commend him for doing it. He really brings to lights what the NFL is and becoming.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Plus he wouldn't have gotten more than veteran's minimum, non-guaranteed. Would mean a lot more if he was walking away from 10 million.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Personally I think he's pretty much nuts but I don't see where he's doing anybody else any harm so whatever floats his boat I guess.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Remember this is the guy who lashed out on Twitter for people getting enjoyment from Osama Bin Laden's death.

In Pittsburgh, he's known for 1) fumbling in the SB vs Green Bay 2) spin moves 3) Ray Lewis breaking his shoulder during a spin move and 4) the bin Laden comments. Not necessarily in that order.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Remember this is the guy who lashed out on Twitter for people getting enjoyment from Osama Bin Laden's death.

So, you are saying he's an intelligent guy who values all human life? or what?

[BYU 14]

I don't fault him at all, he is young and has interests and dreams beyond football. Not many get the opportunity to do what they want over what they need to do at the this young of an age. Wish him well.

And some of his comments about the game down to the high school level hit home. The fight to instill completion and team over individualism starts so much younger now and it is a constant battle. Hate sounding "old" but don't always like where the game is headed as it relates to teenagers and younger.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So, you are saying he's an intelligent guy who values all human life? or what?

I was thinking more like "clueless git"

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by A-Husker-4-Life

Why I Retired At 26*|*Rashard Mendenhall

This is a great read and I commend him for doing it. He really brings to lights what the NFL is and becoming.

This is one of those times you have to consider the source. The guy just has never loved football and it showed in his preparation and play on the field. There's a reason Tomlin benched him multiple times, including 4 years into his career. Being a healthy scratch in December games 4 years into your career is telling. That just doesn't happen with guys who are professionals. He got paid big money as a #1 draft choice, but never was willing to put in the work. So this is unsurprising.

Also, for a good look at Mendenhall's judgement on other issues, go look up his comments on Bin Laden right after we killed the guy.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So, you are saying he's an intelligent guy who values all human life? or what?

Maybe my brain is remembering things differently, but I don't think it was only a tweet about people feeling sad about a human life. I believe it was something like "We've only heard one side of this thing, people shouldn't be so quick to judge" In other words, it was the truther aspect of it that drew the ire. (I know I wouldn't care about someone stating he felt uncomfortable about people celebrating someone dying)

As for this article, I guess I don't understand his points at all. People are analyzing the game without coaches tape? This has happened for years. Guys dancing to get on SportsCenter, I mean twitter, I mean instagram? Come on, this has been an issue for years. I seem to remember him having a couple of endorsement deals himself. Does he really want to go down that rabbit hole?

Mendenhall wasn't unemployed because of stat geeks, he was unemployed because ANYONE could see he was a poor running back. In his 6 full seasons, he had 2 decent years. (only one of which would be considered very good) As someone above pointed out, this isn't a guy who is walking away from 20 million in signing bonus (or even 5 million in signing bonus) This will end up being one of the biggest money spending FA periods in NFL history and my guess is his agent told him he'd get a one year/non guaranteed/vet min. deal to prove himself.

I have to separate this out:

1) I wish him well. He got out with his health, with his money and the ability to lead the life he wants to. Good for him.

2) I think many of the points in his op ed are incorrect.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

So, you are saying he's an intelligent guy who values all human life? or what?

Just saying he thinks a little differently than the average NFLer

[stevew]

tl:dr I quit before I got fired and had to spend all season auditioning for a job. My top 5 least favorite Steeler ever based on stuff he did on the field.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Maybe my brain is remembering things differently, but I don't think it was only a tweet about people feeling sad about a human life. I believe it was something like "We've only heard one side of this thing, people shouldn't be so quick to judge" In other words, it was the truther aspect of it that drew the ire. (I know I wouldn't care about someone stating he felt uncomfortable about people celebrating someone dying)

He definitely did stray into trutherism, but his main concern was that we shouldn't be celebrating death because God made us all.

[Julio Riddols]

I am one who believes it's your life, you can do what you want.. But the reasons he is giving sound like a disillusioned man justifying quitting his current job. I've done the same before when I knew I just wasn't into something but felt like I was failing somewhat by quitting. The points he brings up just don't ring true to me, because it seems like the younger players in the game today are a lot less showboats than their predecessors were. I see a lot more younger players tossing the ball to the ref after scoring and it used to be Barry Sanders was like the only guy that did that. I think the tide is turning as teams realize what players perform better and produce a winning team. The depth of analysis that goes into player selection these days is weeding out show boaters to a degree as me-first players fall more and more out of favor. Since Mendenhall has come into the league a lot of work has been done to tone down celebration, actually. He is mad at what the media makes of things, not what the league actually is.

[Solecismic]

The NFL wouldn't exist if there were more like him. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's nice to see that he's a thoughtful person with dreams of his own. I hope he has success in his new endeavors.